On April 2, countless schools, businesses, private homes and landmarks worldwide will join together to mark United Nations World Autism Awareness Day, an effort that seeks to shine a light on the 3.5 million Americans, including my 21-year-old son Emil, who live with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder.Yet, each person's autism is different, perceived differently, and lived differently; making it hard to speak with just one voice.Our personal autism journey started in Westchester in the late 1990s, with a low point coming in 2003. My husband and I listened as the Director of Pupil Services of our old district uttered – during an official meeting – that our son would do better in foster care. And she added that she would make sure that an investigation was started.Not long ago people used to believe that all persons with autism had intellectual disabilities, but our son's academic record was stellar. Needless to say, the next academic year started in a different school district.Since then, my son and I have not been shy to knock on doors to advocate for the needs of people with autism. The announcement of the first United Nations World Autism Awareness Day in 2007 was a revelation. Elated, free to be autistic and to dream, Emil asked me for my help in asking some well-known building to turn their lights blue – the color of the sky and hope – in honor of those with autism and with the hope of more awareness.The Empire State Building was the first...Full Article

Carita Chan was excited to get to ride in a Sno-Cat for the first time. U.S. Forest Service photo. What lengths would you go to for the pursuit of science? That’s a question I asked myself when I had the opportunity to participate in data collection at the Glacier Lakes Ecosystem Experiments Site with John Frank and John Korfmacher, Electronics Engineer and Physical Scientist respectively, at the Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Research Station. The Glacier Lakes Ecosystem Experiments Site, or GLEES, is located in the Snowy Range of the Medicine Bow Mountains, within the Medicine Bow National Forest in Wyoming. The remote site’s 600 hectares (1,480 acres) are composed of a watershed located in mountainous terrain at 3,200 to 3,500 m (10,500 to 11,500 ft.) elevation. With its unique hydrological and topographical features and diversity of plant species, this site has been ideal for investigating the effects of atmospheric and climate changes on alpine and subalpine ecosystems. There has been a rich history of research at the site, and an extensive collection of information, spanning the fields of meteorology, hydrology, geology, and ecology, dating back to the 1930s. Currently, there are two major sites for meteorological and air quality monitoring, one located by the Glacier Lakes and the other by the Brooklyn Lake. John Korfmacher (left) maintains a rain gauge. John Frank (right) repairs a snow depth sensor. Credit: U.S. Forest Service. Each Tuesday...Full Article

SearchServerVirtualization Sizing up the effects of a monster VM A monster VM might not be useful for everyone right now, but it could be the future so administrators should make sure to ... What to do when you outgrow your hypervisor cluster Before you start buying new hardware, take time to evaluate why you need more cluster capacity and make a plan to anticipate ... VMware VVOLs, VSAN changing the storage game Our Advisory Board weighs in on how VMware VVOLs, an addition released in vSphere 6, are changing the storage industry. SearchVirtualDesktop Right and wrong ways to implement cloud-based desktops If your DaaS deployment has a direct connection with the provider, you could have some of the same issues a branch would. But if ... New desktop analytics tools offer clear view of PC, VDI use New desktop analytics tools from AppSense and Ericom could help IT admins deal with desktop management at small and large scales. How to integrate VMware Workspace Portal with View VMware's Workspace Portal offers users a one stop shop to access hosted, virtual, Web and published applications. If you ... ...Full Article

After being locked away for years, a Thomas Hart Benton painting purchased in 1957 as a class gift by Shawnee Mission High School students has found a new home.Benton’s “Utah Highlands” is now on long-term loan to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. It will return to the public eye in late April in the Enid and Crosby Kemper Rotunda in the museum’s American Wing. “It is fitting that this painting has found a home in the Nelson-Atkins, since the museum has such a strong history with Benton,” museum director and chief executive Julián Zugazagoitia said in a statement. “We are delighted the students who purchased the painting will be able to come and see it. And the timing is perfect, because we have a major Thomas Hart Benton exhibition coming in the fall.”The Shawnee Mission School District had been looking for a way to safely exhibit the painting since a Kansas City Star story Jan. 26 raised questions about its whereabouts. District officials produced the painting days later, saying it had been stashed in a vault for safekeeping.“We are pleased to partner with the Nelson-Atkins to ensure the Benton painting, a treasured class gift, will be displayed publicly and enjoyed by past, present, and future students, along with the many visitors to the museum,” said district Superintendent Jim Hinson.Alumni who wanted to see the painting also were pleased.“I think this is wonderful news,” said Ron A...Full Article

Enlarge Hydrogeologists Brian Yellen and his advisor David Boutt recently reported results of the first study to document water losses from a river due to hydropeaking. Credit: UMass Amherst In the first-of-its-kind study of the environmental effects of hydropeaking, that is releasing water at hydropower dams to meet peak daily electricity demand, two University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers say their unexpected findings suggest that about 10 percent of released water may be permanently lost, making that water unavailable to downstream users and wildlife. In the first study to document water losses due to hydropeaking, hydrogeologists Brian Yellen, who received his master's degree for the work, with his advisor assistant professor of geosciences David Boutt, report details in a recent issue of the journal Hydrological Processes. Yellen says, "The most interesting thing we found is something we weren't looking for. That is, in this 13-mile stretch of the river, about 10 percent of water released from the dam every day gets pushed into the aquifer and is lost permanently." The surprise finding is not going to end power companies' practice of hydropeaking, which allows the grid to operate more efficiently, Yellen acknowledges, "but we found a tradeoff that wasn't understood before. It's one additional tradeoff of which we're now aware. This is big news for downstream fish and fishermen, ecosystems, swimmer...Full Article

AUGUSTA, Maine — While the initiative has not yet been subjected to a single vote in the Legislature, Gov. Paul LePage on Tuesday came out swinging against lawmakers who have criticized his plan to beef up Maine’s efforts to arrest and prosecute drug offenders. “They are weak on drugs,” LePage told reporters, describing the legislators. “They simply don’t want to deal with the problem. Frankly, they shouldn’t be in this hall, they shouldn’t be in this building if they can’t take care of our children. And the gloves are off now.” The Republican governor has proposed funding for an additional four District Court judges, seven additional Maine Drug Enforcement agents and four assistant attorneys general, all with an eye toward fighting drug dealers in Maine. The plan also includes the hiring of 22 additional district attorneys to ensure cases are processed quickly, although LePage didn’t address that provision during a press conference on his budget proposal held Tuesday in the Cabinet Room. All told, the plan would cost about $8.1 million, according to the governor’s estimates. Last week, those Democrats pelted LePage’s public safety commissioner, John Morris, with concerns that increased law enforcement, without a corresponding increase in spending on treatment for addicts, is an incomplete solution. It’s the same concern they cited when killing a similar plan by the gove...Full Article

A pioneering study from the University of California has revealed new insights into the length of time it takes marine ecosystems to regain their balance after climate change. Up until now, it had been widely believed that it took the ocean floor somewhere in the range of centuries to recover from such events. Now, however, a team led by Sarah Moffitt has suggested it might take marine ecosystems as long as a few thousand years to cope with the consequences of climate change. The findings are important because they could allow scientists to forecast with greater accuracy how current climate transformations will impact marine life. The research focused on examining fossilised marine invertebrates taken from a sediment core sample extracted from the Pacific seafloor near Santa Barbara. This is what makes this study unique, since all previous research looking into the question of marine ecosystems and their reaction to climate changes has focused on just one class of single-cell marine organisms called Foraminifera. Moffitt’s team, however, chose to look into complex organisms instead, examining as many as 5,400 samples of species, ranging from sea urchins to clams, that lived between 3,400 and 16,100 years ago. The period covers eras before and after the last major deglaciation on Earth. The main characteristics of deglaciation include not just polar ice cap melting but also an expansion of areas in the ocean with lower oxygen content. The core sample told scientists th...Full Article

Arizona State will take another crack at elevating its swimming program with a new coach.Sixth-year coach Dorsey Tierney-Walker was fired Tuesday with a year remaining on her contract to direct the men's and women's teams. She is the fifth coaching change made by Ray Anderson, in his second year as ASU Vice President for Athletics."I want to thank Dorsey for her service to ASU," Anderson said in a statement. "As it is with all changes in leadership, this decision was not made without a lot of thought and care. Our athletics department, university and community expect our swimming program to compete for individual, conference and national titles, and produce All-Americans and Olympians. We will conduct a national search for a new head coach that is the best fit for our program, university, and community."Mark Bradshaw will continue as ASU's diving coach.Anderson currently is searching for a new men's basketball coach. He also made performance-based changes in wrestling, baseball and now swimming and a retirement replacement in women's gymnastics.Under Tierney-Walker, the ASU women placed sixth or seventh (out of 8-9 teams) in the Pac-12 and the men finished fifth or lower (out of 5-8 teams) every season. The women were 12th at NCAA Championships in 2012 and since fell off to 23rd, 41st and most recently 34th. The men were 18th at nationals in 2013 then 23rd and did not score a point this season.Men's swimming was one of three sports dropped by ASU for budget reasons in May 200...Full Article

The guests of honor perform at the end of “One More For The Fans! – Celebrating the Songs & Music of Lynyrd Skynyrd.” Photo: Getty Images/Blackbird Productions [I’m on with my rock ‘n’ roll pal Kaedy Kiely at 97.1 The River every Wednesday at 6:50 and 7:50 a.m. to talk about the latest music news. Tune in to hear what’s up!] BY MELISSA RUGGIERI In November, a procession of classic rock and country acts stormed the Fox Theatre to pay tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd. The show, “Lynyrd Skynyrd – One More for the Fans!”, was filmed and will soon receive a CD/DVD release. With a lineup featuring Cheap Trick, Gregg Allman, Alabama, Trace Adkins, John Hiatt, Warren Haynes, Blackberry Smoke, O.A.R., Jason Isbell and more, as well as a house band anchored by Don Was, the concert was a robust homage to the Southern rock behemoths, who took the stage at show’s end. The track list and album art for “One More for the Fans!” is also expected to be announced soon. Here’s a recap of the concert if you weren’t able to witness it live. Follow the AJC Music Scene on Facebook and Twitter. ...Full Article

If Gareth Bale didn't already realise just how fickle the Spanish press can be, he certainly should do when he reports back from international duty to line up for Real Madrid in La Liga against Granada on Sunday lunchtime. Bale left Spain to join-up ...Full Article

... document water losses due to hydropeaking, hydrogeologists Brian Yellen, who received his master's degree for the work, with his advisor assistant professor of geosciences David Boutt, report details in a recent issue of the journal Hydrological ...Full Article

New Plymouth Old Boys halfback Te Toiria Tahuriorangi has taken a major step towards inclusion in the New Zealand Under-20 squad for the world championships in Italy in June after he was named in the national squad for the Oceania championships.Full Article

INDIANAPOLIS - Indianapolis' sports world is speaking out following the Indiana Legislature's passage of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). "Indianapolis is a preferred partner in heavy rotation for a lot of NCAA championships," said Larry ...Full Article

Currently the EPA's jurisdiction includes “navigable” waters and waters with a significant hydrologic connection to navigable waters. The new ... Assuming that process proceeds at the expected rate, the rule will come down a little bit later on ...Full Article

Over the past decade, several multikinase inhibitors have shown considerable effectiveness against metastatic radioiodine-refractory thyroid cancers in early stage clinical trials. On the basis of some remarkable results in a phase III clinical trial ...Full Article

The Atletico Madrid man played a slide-rule first time volleyed pass through the eye of a needle to feed Alvaro Morata in the game's first true moment of class after half an hour to set up a 1-0 win and keep Vicente del Bosque's side on course for ...Full Article

Less than a week since the announcement the U.S. Steel plant in Granite City would be “temporarily” idled, a state lawmaker is asking his colleagues to support a bill that could address the problem. State Senator Bill Haine (D-Alton) is sponsoring a ...Full Article

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